Re: Advice and info please...

[P3D Larry Berlin <lberlin@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Sam Smith  writes:
.....................
>
>An incredibly talented stereographer I know wishes to have a CD-ROM made for
>LCD Viewing of his work. Is there anyone currently doing this service, or
>accepting stock?

*****************  VRex has software for making the conversions for LCD
viewing. Kinko's and many others offer CD-ROM burning at a reasonable cost.
Once you have the master, you need to shop around for a reasonably priced
duplicating service.

>
>The third one is for me. I'm about to make a leap from camera modification
>to camera design. I've been saving two 3D concepts until I've had both the
>materials and the knowledge to make them work, and in at least one of them I
>think I've been able to resolve the major hurdles enough to build a
>prototype. But some with business knowledge have warned me to protect myself
>before I release any details of the projects. I'm not trying to sound overly
>paranoid, but there is a good possibility that some of these ideas may be
>patentable. Unfortunately I'm a tinkerer and not a lawyer, and have never
>pursued a patent before.
>
>Is there any advice anyone can give me on the proper way to seek a patent?
>Is this a major expense of both time and money?
>
>Any help would be appreciated.
>

********************   Sounds like fun!  ; -)

Seriously, you should find the nearest repository of patent documents. Most
likely are  major city or university libraries and inventor help agencies.
Then start doing some research. It's fascinating and VERY time consuming.
You can do a lot of research from your computer over the Internet but all
you will get are abstracts. However, the abstracts are very useful and will
help you to start finding your way around as well as narrowing your search
to most important documents. Only a visit to a patent library will get you
to the actual books with all the illustrations.

Once you have narrowed things down you may want to send off for actual
copies of closely related patents. They cost about $3.00 each from the
patent office and from several other places. 

Put most of your great ideas on hold (after recording what you have) until
you've done lots of research and then determine if you have something worth
pursuing. One of the most amazing facts is that so many useful good ideas
have been invented but were never introduced to the market place. If your
idea is still looking good, get it written down, documented, etc. Don't
worry about attorneys until you've done a bit of this research. It will help
you have less expensive conversations with the attorneys later, if you need
them.

There is some good software for help with the patent application process. I
think it's from Nolo Press, and it's worth the investment. It has all the
forms for filing and recording your idea in the most accepted ways.

You ask, 
>Is this a major expense of both time and money?

Absolutely! 

Here's a link for researching patent abstracts:

        http://patents.cnidr.org:4242/

Be ready for your own ideas to start maturing and changing as you discover
both what is out there and what is NOT out there. Don't be discouraged if
many of your ideas are already patented. It's not so much about being first
as about being specific as to what you want to build and making sure you
don't duplicate someone elses device. I read a recent article about patents
and flywheels. The original inventor had developed a full set of patents on
the devices at one point and sold them when he parted ways with the original
company. Later he re-entered the same industry on his own and had to
literally re-invent his own wheel. His new company now has it's own set of
new patents that evidently don't conflict with his original ones, and are
probably better. 

So, if you really want to go through all the hoops, you can eventually come
out the other side with unique patents in some relation to the idea that got
you started. 

If the research topic is 3D, you are bound to be fascinated by a lot of what
you find. It's worthwhile reading for any 3D nut!  (This last statement
brings the topic back to 3D! ; -)

Larry Berlin

Email: lberlin@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.sonic.net/~lberlin/
http://3dzine.simplenet.com/


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